Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri has said already 900,000 bags of the required 1.2 million bags of fertilizer have been distributed to farmers and the remaining three hundred bags are being transported to designated stores. Addressing the press at Kilimo House in Nairobi, CS Kiunjuri said the government has set aside Kshs 7 billion to buy 2 million bags of maize. He added that farmers will be able to collect the remaining fertilizer by the end of next week.

However, he noted that some unscrupulous traders have taken advantage of existing gaps to access subsidized fertilizer meant for farmers. He said action will be taken against any perpetrator who will be found, and revealed the Ministry has put in place measures to deal with the individuals, “The government has intensified frequent surveillance and monitoring across the country. Security teams have been put on high alert,” he said.

CS Kiunjuri said the government is aware there are genuine farmers who still have stocks of maize and a soultion has been found to faciltate them to deliver. “I have directed cereals board to reveiw transport rates for short distance to make the service competitive to transporters,” he said, revealing that transporters are more willing to go for long distances and they aren’t willing to cover short distances.